Anatomy and Physiology of Children and Adolescents - M. R. Sapin 2007

Nervous System (General Layout of the Structure and Development of the Nervous System)
Central Nervous System
Higher Nervous Activity — Types of Nervous Activity

Nervous reactions within the body vary among individuals in terms of strength and mobility. These individual traits stem from the interplay between the processes of Excitation and Inhibition. Based on differences in neural reactions—primarily regarding the strength of nervous processes—The Nervous system is categorized into strong and weak types.

Class="center">Types of the Nervous System (according to I.P. Pavlov)

A strong type of nervous system can be either unbalanced or balanced. The unbalanced type is characterized by heightened excitability and volatility, where excitatory processes override inhibitory ones. A balanced type may vary in the mobility of its nervous processes, the speed of reaction, and behavioral adaptability. The mobile type allows for rapid reorientation in response to changing life circumstances, whereas the inert type struggles with reorientation, making adaptation slow and difficult.

Interestingly, the nervous system types identified by I.P. Pavlov correspond to the human temperament Classification proposed nearly 2,500 years ago by the renowned ancient physician Hippocrates. He divided people by temperament into choleric (unbalanced, easily excitable), sanguine (balanced, lively, mobile nervous system—optimistic), phlegmatic (balanced, calm, judicious, inert), and melancholic (weak nervous system type: gloomy, subdued, chronic skeptics).

The type of nervous system is inherited from parents; however, it is significantly shaped by environmental factors. Character traits develop throughout an individual's life.

A weak type is often fostered by overprotective upbringing, where adults make every decision for the child, denying them autonomy and stifling initiative. Shielding a child from hardships and external influences can induce passive-defensive behavioral patterns, even in someone with an innate strong nervous system.

Setting overly demanding or unattainable goals can overstrain cortical processes of excitation or inhibition, leading to disruptions in nervous activity and neurosis. Human mental Functions are impaired by METABOLISM/18.html">The Influence of alcohol and drugs, which severely compromise the mechanisms governing neural processes.